New natural science semester launched

Submitted by Laurel Currie–The inaugural fall semester in Natural Resource Studies is off to a great start! The Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society welcomed students from across Canada (New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and BC) to Haida Gwaii for a four-month intensive program focused on natural sciences. Students are wrapping up their first course, Applied Ecology of Coastal Terrestrial Ecosystems taught by Dr. Sue Grayston, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Soil Microbial Ecology. The course provides an in-depth examination of the processes that shape coastal terrestrial ecosystems through time and the applications of that information to present day management. Beginning right at the root of things by learning about the microbes in the soils that support our forests.The class has already heard from several guest speakers and local educators, including Diane Brown, Chief Gaahlaay, Keith Moore, Jason Alsop, Jean-Luis Martin, Linda Tollas, Sean Muise, Mark Salzl, Cindy Prescott (UBC) and Hilary Thorpe. They have been up Sleeping Beauty, down the Gore Brook Trail, across to Rennell Sound and even into Gwaii Haanas. All in spectacularly sunny weather!Our second course begins next week. Scott Wallace, PhD and Fisheries Analyst, will teach the students about Biophysical Dynamics of the Marine-Terrestrial Interface. Using the living classrooms of Haida Gwaii, this course will explore the profound and dynamic influences that land and sea have on one another. Be sure to join us on Wednesday, Oct. 3 (7 pm at Kaay) for an informative talk by Dr. Wallace, Bottom Lines: ENGOs and BC Bottom Trawlers Develop New Conservative Measures.